Emund the Old or Edmund (Swedish: Emund den gamle, Old Swedish: Æmunðær gamlæ, Æmunðær gammal, Æmunðær slemæ) was King of Sweden from c. 1050 to c. 1060.[1] His short reign was characterised by disputes with the Archbishopric of Bremen over church policies, and a historically debated delimitation of the Swedish-Danish border.

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Emund was the son of Olof Skötkonung, the first Christian ruler of Sweden. His mother was a co-wife,[2]Edla, daughter of a Slavic chief from the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. He had two uterine sisters called Astrid and Holmfrid. His half-siblings, born by Olof's legitimate Queen Estrid of the Obotrites, were Anund Jacob and Ingegerd According to the 13th-century historian Snorri Sturluson, Estrid was ill-tempered and treated her stepchildren poorly. King Olof later sent Emund to be raised with his mother's Slavic family. While staying there he failed to hold on to the Christian religion.[3]

Olof was succeeded by his other son Anund Jacob, who however did not have any known sons of his own. Snorri relates that Emund was ruling in Sigtuna, an important center in the Swedish realm, by 1035.[4] However, other sources show that Anund Jacob was still alive then; the names Anund and Emund might have been mixed up.[5] The German ecclesiastical chronicler Adam of Bremen, in his Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum (Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church), says that Anund Jacob died in or shortly after 1049 and was succeeded by Emund; there is nothing to suggest that the succession was irrregular.[6]

Our only near-contemporary source for Emund's reign is Adam of Bremen, who paints a very negative picture of the new ruler. This is mainly due to the self-willed attitude of Emund vis-à-vis the Archdiocese of Bremen. Adam relates that Emund was baptised but cared very little for the Christian faith. He also gives Emund the cognomen pessimus (worst), which is later reflected by the short chronicle of the Westrogothic law (c. 1240) which likewise knows the king as Slemme, the bad.[7] The Westrogothic law states that Emund was a disagreeable man when wanting to pursue a goal.[8]

The dispute with Bremen was triggered by Emund's insistence on maintaining a bishop called Osmundus. Originally a protegé of the Norwegian-based missionary Sigfrid, Osmundus had been raised at a school in Bremen but failed to be ordained bishop by the Pope. Eventually he was ordained by the Polish archbishop of Gniezno and proceeded to Sweden where he won the confidence of King Emund. In the mid-1050s the Archbishop of Bremen sent envoys to Sweden, headed by Adalvard the Elder who was intended as the new bishop. The delegation was highly offended when encountering Osmundus who sported the habits of an archbishop and "seduced the still recently converted wild peoples through incorrect education in our faith". On Osmundus' insistence, Emund turned the envoys away from an assembly. However, the Swedish magnate Stenkil, a relation of the king, escorted the delegation on its way back.[9]

Some time after the schism, King Emund dispatched his son Anund with an army "in order to expand the realm". The Viking expedition crossed the sea and came, according to Adam, to Terra Feminarum, the Land of Women. Adam places this somewhere in Scythia. Modern scholars have assumed that the term alludes to Kvenland which was probably situated to the east of the Gulf of Bothnia in present-day Finland (Kven could have been mixed up with the Nordic word kvinna, woman). "The women", says Adam, "immediately mixed poison in the springwater, and in that way brought death to the king himself and his army." The passage implies that Anund bore the title of king together with his father.[10]

The military disaster was paired with a severe drought and failed harvests. This crop failure can be dated to 1056 from other sources.[11] Allegedly, the calamities caused the Swedes to turn to the Archbishop of Bremen and ask to receive Adalvard back as Bremen-appointed bishop. Adalvard duly arrived to Sweden where he devoted his efforts to the conversion of Värmland towards the border of Norway. Osmundus appears to have submitted to Adalvard in the end, but left Sweden for England some time before 1066.[12] It has been assumed on very loose grounds that he was the same person as Åsmund Kåresson, a prominent carver of runic inscriptions in Uppland.[13] One of the latter's inscription includes the passage "Åsmund Kåresson carved runes right. Then sat Emund". There has been much speculation that this refers to Emund sitting on the throne.[14]

Little is known about the relationship between Sweden and its Nordic neighbours in King Emund's time. He may have continued his brother Anund Jacob's support for the Danish king Sweyn Estridsen against Harald Hardrada of Norway.[15] A memorandum about an early delimitation of the Swedish-Danish border has been preserved in a large number of medieval Swedish manuscripts. The text states that "Emund Slemme was the King in Uppsala, and Sweyn Forkbeard in Denmark. They placed boundary-marks between Sweden [Sueriki] and Denmark. Now is enumerated Ragnvalde of Tiundaland, Botvid of Hälsingland, Bote of Fjärdhundraland, Grimalde of Östergötland, Tole and Tote and Tokke of Jutland, Gunkil of Sjaelland, Dan of Scania, Grimulf of Grimeton in Halland. They placed six stones between the two kingdoms. The first stone stands in Snutruase, the second in Danabäck, the third one is Kinna sten, the fourth in Uraksnaes, the fifth Vita sten, the sixth is Brömse sten between Blekinge and Möre."[16] The memorandum is followed by a story about a meeting between the three Nordic kings on Danaholmen where the Danish king held the bridle of the Swedish king's horse, while the Norwegian king held his stirrups, thus seemingly acknowledging the precedence of the Uppsala king.[17]

In older historiography it was usually assumed that the province of Blekinge was transferred from Sweden to Denmark at this occasion.[18] A late 9th-century source alleges that Blekinge belonged to the Swedes at that time, while medieval sources make clear that it belonged to Denmark. Modern scholarship has questioned this, since there is even doubt if Blekinge was considered Danish in the 1060s.[19] Moreover, the veracity of the memorandum has been put into doubt by Peter Sawyer on various grounds. Emund the Old and Sweyn Forkbeard were not contemporaries (though the king at the time was another Sweyn, Sweyn Estridsen [1047-1074]), and some particularities might fit High medieval conditions better. According to Sawyer the memorandum may have been authored by Danish people in the first half of the 13th century, in order to prove the early origins of the Danish claims to Halland and Blekinge.[20] Some other historians have nevertheless defended the genuine character of the text and dated it to c. 1050.[21]

Emund's wife is not explicitly mentioned in the sources. Through a combination of information from the Hervarar saga and Adam of Bremen, it has sometimes been assumed that he was married to Astrid Njalsdotter of Skjalgaätten (d. 1060).[22] Astrid was the daughter of Norwegian nobleman Nial Finnsson (d. 1011), son of Gunhild Halvdansdotter of the Skjalga family in Hålogaland, Norway. Emund sired two known children with his consort: Anund who died before his father, and a daughter, whose name is not known but who was the Queen Consort of King Stenkil of Sweden and the mother of two more Swedish kings, Inge I and Halsten.[23]

The cognomen "Gamle" is known from Adam of Bremen, although he mistakes it as a proper name and mentions in one episode a "King Gamle" when it is in fact Emund. The name means "old" and could signify that he was old when he became king or that he was the older brother to his predecessor Anund Jakob. Emund was the last king of the ancient royal house of the Swedes (sometimes known in modern history writing as the House of Munsö). He is known to have been alive as late as the summer of 1060, and probably died shortly after.[24]Adam of Bremen relates in his work that Emund was succeeded by his "nephew or stepson", in fact probably son-in law, Stenkil. With him began a new dynasty that would last until the 1120s.[25]

The Hervarar saga (13th century) says that Emund was king only a short time:

1.
Anund Jacob
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Anund Jacob or James, Swedish, Anund Jakob was King of Sweden from 1022 until around 1050. He is believed to have born on July 25, in either 1008 or 1010 as Jakob. When the Swedish Thing was to him the co-ruler of Sweden. They then gave him the pronomen Anund, the line of kings appended to the Westrogothic law says that he was called Kolbränna as he had the habit of burning down the houses of his opponents. At the Battle of the Helgeå, Anund and Olaf were either victorious over or defeated by Cnut, when Magnus I became king of Norway and Denmark in 1042, Anund Jakob supported him until the death of Magnus in 1047. Anund Jakobs reign has traditionally dated from 1022 to approximately 1050. He was probably alive 1049, and his brother and successor Emund is certain to have ruled Sweden in the summer of 1060, two skalds are known to have served Anund Jacob, Sighvatr Þórðarson and Óttarr svarti. He provided military reinforcements to Yaroslav I the Wise in a battle against Mstislav of Chernigov, the battle was fought during a thunderstorm and ended in a defeat for the allies, and Jakun went back over the sea. According to Gudmund Jöran Adlerbeth of the Swedish Academy, Jakun was identical with King Anund Jakob, however, it is more likely that the name Jakun corresponds to Håkan and was another Swedish chief or petty ruler

2.
Ingamoder
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Ingamoder is a Swedish name invented in modern times for the daughter of King Emund the Old who was married to King Stenkil of Sweden and whose given name is not known. It translates to English as Mother of Inge, the woman was born about 1025 to King Emund and Queen Astrid. She married Stenkil, who would inherit her fathers title. She is known only from customs at the Ingemo Well in Sweden, ingemos Well is an old holy well where she was venerated, which may originally have been a Pagan era holy site well. It is located between Skövde and Tidaholm, the well is walled with stone, its dimensions are 1,2 ×0,6 meter. It is covered with a limestone slab, the well was the goal of pilgrimages, where people offered coins for health into the 19th century. The earliest accounts of the customs at the date from the late 17th century. Modern genealogical speculation made her the mother of Inge but Ingemo cannot be reliably sourced as the person as Ingamoder. Ohlmarks, Åke Alla Sveriges drottningar Swedish Ohlmarks, Åke Alla Sveriges prinsessor Swedish

3.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic

4.
Swedish language
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Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken natively by more than 9 million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, where it has equal legal standing with Finnish. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish, along with the other North Germanic languages, Swedish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. It is currently the largest of the North Germanic languages by number of speakers, Standard Swedish, spoken by most Swedes, is the national language that evolved from the Central Swedish dialects in the 19th century and was well established by the beginning of the 20th century. While distinct regional varieties descended from the rural dialects still exist. The standard word order is, as in most Germanic languages, V2, Swedish morphology is similar to English, that is, words have comparatively few inflections. There are two genders, no cases, and a distinction between plural and singular. Older analyses posit the cases nominative and genitive and there are remains of distinct accusative and dative forms as well. Adjectives are compared as in English, and are inflected according to gender, number. The definiteness of nouns is marked primarily through suffixes, complemented with separate definite and indefinite articles, the prosody features both stress and in most dialects tonal qualities. The language has a large vowel inventory. Swedish is also notable for the voiceless velar fricative, a highly variable consonant phoneme. Swedish is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, by many general criteria of mutual intelligibility, the Continental Scandinavian languages could very well be considered dialects of a common Scandinavian language. In the 8th century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, Proto-Norse, had some changes. This language began to undergo new changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, the dialects of Old East Norse that were spoken in Sweden are called Runic Swedish while the dialects of Denmark are referred to as Runic Danish. The dialects are described as runic because the body of text appears in the runic alphabet. Unlike Proto-Norse, which was written with the Elder Futhark alphabet, Old Norse was written with the Younger Futhark alphabet, from 1200 onwards, the dialects in Denmark began to diverge from those of Sweden. An early change that separated Runic Danish from the dialects of Old East Norse was the change of the diphthong æi to the monophthong é. This is reflected in runic inscriptions where the older read stain, there was also a change of au as in dauðr into a long open ø as in døðr dead

5.
Old Swedish
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Old Swedish developed from Old East Norse, the eastern dialect of Old Norse. The differences were minute, however, and the dialects truly began to diverge around the 12th century, becoming Old Swedish. It is not known when exactly Old Gutnish and Elfdalian began to diverge from Swedish, Early Old Swedish was markedly different from modern Swedish in that it had a more complex case structure and had not yet experienced a reduction of the gender system and thus had three genders. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns and certain numerals were inflected in four cases, the writing of the Westrogothic law marked the beginning of Early Old Swedish, which had developed from Old East Norse. It was the first Swedish language document written in the Latin alphabet, Old Swedish was relatively stable during this period. The phonological and grammatical systems inherited from Old Norse were relatively well preserved, most of the texts from the Early Old Swedish period were written in Latin, as it was the language of knowledge and the Church. However, Old Swedish was used as a language as well. Much of the knowledge of Old Swedish comes from these law texts, in addition to laws, some religious and poetic texts were also written in Old Swedish. The Catholic Church and its various monastic orders introduced many new Greek, Latin especially had an influence on the written language. The Middle Low German language also influenced Old Swedish due to the economic, many German speakers immigrated to Swedish cities and worked in trade and administration. Accordingly, loanwords relating to warfare, trade, crafts and bureaucracy entered the Swedish language directly from Low German, along with some grammatical suffixes and conjunctions. The prefixes be-, ge- and för- that can be found in the beginning of modern Swedish words came from the Low German be-, ge- and vor-. Some words were replaced new ones, the native word for window, vindøgha, was replaced with fönster, eldhus was replaced with kök. Some of these still exist in Modern Swedish but are often considered archaic or dialectal. Many words related to seafaring were borrowed from Dutch, the influence of Low German was so strong that the inflectional system of Old Swedish was largely broken down. The printing of the New Testament in Swedish in 1526 marked the point for modern Swedish. In this period Old Swedish had taken in an amount of new vocabulary primarily from Latin, Low German. When the country part of the Kalmar Union in 1397

6.
Archbishopric of Bremen
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The Archdiocese of Bremen is a historical Roman Catholic diocese and formed from 1180 to 1648 an ecclesiastical state, named Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen within the Holy Roman Empire. The prince-archbishopric consisted of about a third of the diocesan territory, the city of Bremen was de facto and de jure not part of the prince-archbishopric but belonged to the archdiocese. Most of the prince-archbishopric lay rather in the area to the north of the city of Bremen, between the Weser and Elbe rivers, even more confusingly, parts of the prince-archbishopric belonged in religious respect to the neighbouring diocese of Verden, making up 10% of its diocesan territory. Verden itself had a double identity too—as the diocese of Verden, each prince-bishopric had the status of an Imperial Estate, each of which were represented in the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1500 on the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen belonged to the Saxon Circle, the Prince-Bishopric of Verden, on the other hand, belonged to the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle and sent its own representative to the Diet. Even when the two prince-bishoprics were ruled in union, in order to maintain the two seats in the Diet they were never formally united in a real union. The same is true for the collectively governed Duchies of Bremen and Verden which emerged in 1648 from the secularised two prince-bishoprics and these forgeries have drawn a veil before the early history of the Hamburg-Bremen. The foundation of the diocese belongs to the period of the activity of Willehad on the lower Weser. The diocese was conceivably at that time a suffragan of the archbishops of Cologne, when, after the death of Bishop Leuderich, the see was given to Ansgar, it lost its independence, and from that time on was permanently united with the Archdiocese of Hamburg. The new combined see was regarded as the headquarters for work in the Nordic countries. Ansgars successor, Rimbert, the apostle of the north, was troubled by onslaughts first by Normans and then by Wends. Sergius prohibited the chapter at Hamburgs Concathedral to found suffragan dioceses of its own, after the Obodrite destruction of Hamburg in 983 the Hamburg chapter was dispersed. So Archbishop Unwan appointed a new chapter with twelve canons, with three taken from Bremen Cathedral chapter, and the three colleges of Bücken, Harsefeld and Ramelsloh. The see of Hamburg-Bremen attained its greatest prosperity and later had its deepest troubles under Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg and he was after Hamburg-Bremens upgrade to the rank of a Patriarchate of the North and failed completely. Hamburg stopped being used as part of the diocese’s name, the next two archbishops, Liemar and Humbert, were determined opponents of Pope Gregory VII. At the stripping of the Duchy of Saxony in 1180 all of these suffragan bishops achieved for parts of their territories the status of imperially immediate prince-bishoprics. The Bishopric of Livonia was a suffragan of Bremen in the years 1186-1255, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and his allies, many of them vassals and former supporters of his paternal cousin Duke Henry III, the Lion, had defeated the Duke of Saxony and Bavaria. In 1180 Frederick I Barbarossa stripped Henry the Lion of his duchies, in 1168 the Saxon clan of the Ascanians, allies of Frederick I Barbarossa, had failed to install their family member Count Siegfried of Anhalt, on the see of Bremen

7.
Baltic Sea
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The Baltic Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed by Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic countries, and the North European Plain. It includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga, the sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. The Baltic Sea is connected by waterways to the White Sea via the White Sea Canal. Traffic history Historically, the Kingdom of Denmark collected Sound Dues from ships at the border between the ocean and the land-locked Baltic Sea and they were collected in the Øresund at Kronborg castle near Helsingør, in the Great Belt at Nyborg. In the Little Belt, the site of intake was moved to Fredericia, the narrowest part of Little Belt is the Middelfart Sund near Middelfart. Oceanography Geographers widely agree that the physical border of the Baltic is a line drawn through the southern Danish islands, Drogden-Sill. The Drogden Sill is situated north of Køge Bugt and connects Dragør in the south of Copenhagen to Malmö, it is used by the Øresund Bridge, including the Drogden Tunnel. By this definition, the Danish Straits are part of the entrance, but the Bay of Mecklenburg, another usual border is the line between Falsterbo, Sweden and Stevns Klint, Denmark, as this is the southern border of Øresund. Its also the border between the shallow southern Øresund and notably deeper water, hydrography and biology Drogden Sill sets a limit to Øresund and Darss Sill, and a limit to the Belt Sea. The shallow sills are obstacles to the flow of salt water from the Kattegat into the basins around Bornholm. The Kattegat and the southwestern Baltic Sea are well oxygenated and have a rich biology, the remainder of the Sea is brackish, poor in oxygen and in species. While Tacitus called it Mare Suebicum after the Germanic people called the Suebi, the origin of the latter name is speculative. Adam of Bremen himself compared the sea with a belt, stating that it is so named because it stretches through the land as a belt and he might also have been influenced by the name of a legendary island mentioned in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder. Pliny mentions an island named Baltia with reference to accounts of Pytheas and it is possible that Pliny refers to an island named Basilia in On the Ocean by Pytheas. Baltia also might be derived from belt and mean near belt of sea, meanwhile, others have suggested that the name of the island originates from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhel meaning white, fair. This root and its meaning were retained in both Lithuanian and Latvian. On this basis, a related hypothesis holds that the name originated from this Indo-European root via a Baltic language such as Lithuanian, yet another explanation is that the name originally meant enclosed sea, bay as opposed to open sea. Some Swedish historians believe the name derives from the god Balder of Nordic mythology, in the Middle Ages the sea was known by variety of names

8.
Astrid Olofsdotter of Sweden
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Astrid Olofsdotter was the Queen Consort of King Olav II of Norway. Astrid was born to King Olof Skötkonung of Sweden and his Obotritian mistress Edla and she was the half sister of King Anund Jacob of Sweden and sister of King Emund the Old of Sweden. It is said that she and her brother Emund were not treated well by their stepmother, Queen Estrid, Astrid was sent to a man named Egil in Västergötland. In 1016, it had decided that Norway and Sweden should come to more peaceful relations by a royal marriage alliance. Noblemen of both countries tried to arrange a marriage between King Olav of Norway and the sister of Astrid, Princess Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden. King Olof of Sweden agreed at first but broke his promise, King Olav was supposed to have married Astrids half sister, Olof Skötkonungs legitimate daughter Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden. Ingegerd was, however, after his fathers wishes instead married to Yaroslav I the Wise, Grand Prince of Novgorod, Astrid was married to King Olav in Sarpsborg in 1019. Some sources claim that Astrid replaced Ingegerd by the wish of her father, other sources claim that the marriage took place against the will of her father, by the cooperation of King Olav of Norway and the Swedish jarl Ragnvald Ulfsson. Astrid was described as beautiful, articulate and generous, and well liked by others and she was the mother of Wulfhild of Norway, wife of Ordulf, Duke of Saxony and the stepmother of King Magnus the Good, with whom she had a good relationship. In 1030, she was widowed when her husband was killed and she left Norway and settled in the Swedish court, where she had a high position. When her stepson Magnus visited Sigtuna on his way to claim the Norwegian throne, she gave him her official support and encouraged Sweden to do so as well

9.
Estrid of the Obotrites
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Estrid of the Obotrites was a Viking age Swedish queen and West Slavic princess, married to Olof Skötkonung, the King of Sweden, c. 1000–1022, mother of King Anund Jacob of Sweden and the Kievan Rus saint, legend says that Estrid was taken back to Sweden from a war in the West Slavic area of Mecklenburg as a war-prize. Her husband also had a mistress, Edla, who came from the area in Europe as herself. The king treated Edla and Estrid the same way and gave his son and his two daughters with Edla the same privileges as the children he had with Estrid, though it was Estrid he married, not much is known of Estrid as a person. Snorre Sturlasson mentions her as a lover of pomp and luxury, Ingegerd Olofsdotter, Grand Princess of Kiev, in Kievan Rus called Anna, married Yaroslav I the Wise, prince of Novgorod and Kiev. Anund Jacob, king of Sweden, succeeded Olof as king in c, Åke Ohlmarks, Alla Sveriges drottningar Snorri Sturluson

10.
Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden
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Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden, also known as Irene, Anna and St. Anna, was a Swedish princess and a Grand Princess of Kiev. She was the daughter of Swedish King Olof Skötkonung and Estrid of the Obotrites, Ingegerd or St. Anna is often confused with the mother of St. Vladimir “the Enlightener” of the Rus. This is mainly because Ingegerd and Yaroslav also had a son named Vladimir, however, St. Vladimir was the father of Ingegerd’s husband Yaroslav I “the Wise”, thus making her St. Vladimir’s daughter-in-law. St. Vladimir was the son of Sviatoslav and Malusha, Ingegerd was born in Sigtuna, Sweden. She was engaged to be married to Norwegian King Olaf II, instead, Ingegerds father quickly arranged for a marriage to the powerful Yaroslav I the Wise of Novgorod. The marriage took place in 1019, once in Kiev, she changed her name to the Greek Irene. According to several sagas, she was given as a marriage gift Ladoga and adjacent lands and she placed her friend, jarl Ragnvald Ulfsson, to rule in her stead. Ingegerd initiated the building of the Saint Sophias Cathedral in Kiev that was supervised by her husband and she also initiated the construction of the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Novgorod. They had six sons and four daughters, the latter of whom became Queens of France, Hungary, Norway, the whole family is depicted in one of the frescoes of the Saint Sophia. Ingegerd died on 10 February 1050, upon her death, according to different sources, Ingegerd was buried in either Saint Sophias Cathedral in Kyiv or Cathedral of St. Sophia in Novgorod. Ingegerd was later declared a saint, by the name of St. Anna, in Novgorod and Kiev. The reason was that she initiated the building of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev as well as the local version, the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, along with many good doings. In Sweden she was known as Princess Indegard, she married Yaroslav I “the Wise“, Grand Prince of Kiev and she gave shelter to the outcast sons of British King Edmund, Edwin and Edward, as well as the Norwegian prince Magnus, who later returned to Norway. She is perhaps best known as the mother of Vsevolod of, himself the father of Vladimir Monomakh and her daughters were Anna, Queen of France, Queen Anastasia of Hungary, and Queen Elizabeth of Norway. The whole family was devout and pious. She reposed in 1050 in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Kiev, as saint, her hymn goes, And 4 stichera, in Tone I, Spec. Feast days,10 February,4 October, sverige och dess regenter under 1.000 år. Commemoration of Our Venerable Mother Anna, Wonderworker of Novgorod, St. Anna of Novgorod | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese

11.
Snorri Sturluson
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Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing and he was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of Egils saga, as a historian and mythographer, Snorri is remarkable for proposing the hypothesis that mythological gods begin as human war leaders and kings whose funeral sites develop cults. As people call upon the war leader as they go to battle, or the dead king as they face tribal hardship. Eventually, the king or warrior is remembered only as a god and he also proposed that as tribes defeat others, they explain their victory by proposing that their own gods were in battle with the gods of the others. Snorri Sturluson was born in Hvammur into the wealthy and powerful Sturlungar family of the Icelandic Commonwealth and his parents were Sturla Þórðarson the elder of Hvammur and his second wife, Guðný Böðvarsdóttir. He had two brothers, Þórðr Sturluson and Sighvatr Sturluson, two sisters and nine half-siblings. By a quirk of circumstance Snorri was raised from the age of three by Jón Loftsson, a relative of the Norwegian royal family, in Oddi, Iceland. The resulting settlement would have beggared Páll, but Jón Loftsson intervened in the Althing to mitigate the judgment and, to compensate Sturla, offered to raise, Snorri therefore received an excellent education and made connections that he might not otherwise have made. He attended the school of Sæmundr fróði, grandfather of Jón Loftsson, at Oddi and his father died in 1183 and his mother as guardian soon wasted Snorris share of the inheritance. The two families arranged an marriage in 1199 between Snorri and Herdís, the daughter of Bersi Vermundarson. From her father, Snorri inherited an estate at Borg and a chieftainship and he soon acquired more property and chieftainships. Snorri and Herdís were together for four years at Borg and they had at least two children, Hallbera and Jón. The marriage succumbed to Snorris philandering, and in 1206, he settled in Reykholt as manager of an estate there and he made significant improvements to the estate, including a hot outdoor bath. The bath and the buildings have preserved to some extent. During the initial years at Reykholt he fathered five children by three different women, Guðrún Hreinsdóttir, Oddný, and Þuríður Hallsdóttir, Snorri quickly became known as a poet, but was also a successful lawyer. In 1215, he became lawspeaker of the Althing, the public office of the Icelandic commonwealth. In the summer of 1218, he left the position and sailed to Norway

12.
Sigtuna
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Sigtuna is a locality situated in Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,444 inhabitants in 2010. It is the namesake of the municipality even though the seat is in Märsta, Sigtuna is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a town. Statistics Sweden, however, only counts localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants as cities, although less significant today, Sigtuna has an important place in Swedens early history. It is the oldest town in Sweden, having founded in 980. The history of Sigtuna before the 11th century, as described in the Norse sagas and other medieval sources. Sigtuna has a medieval town centre with restaurants, cafes. The old church ruins, runic stones and Stora gatan, the old street, are popular attractions for tourists especially in the summertime. The small streets with the low wooden houses lead up to several handicrafts shops. There are restaurants and a hotel in the town centre, Sigtuna is situated at the bay Skarven, stretching around Upplands-Bro and a part of Lake Mälaren. Sigtuna was founded on what was then the shore of Lake Mälaren just over 1,000 years ago and it took its name from an ancient royal estate several kilometers to the west. Various sources claim King Eric the Victorious as founder while others claim King Olof Skötkonung and it operated as a royal and commercial centre for some 250 years, and was one of the most important cities of Sweden. During a brief period at the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11th century, st. Marys Church, built in the 13th century by the Dominican order as a monastery church, still remains largely intact. The Dominican monastery played an important role in the Swedish Middle Ages, many church and monastery ruins still stand, and the old town structure has not been remodeled, as happened in many Swedish cities during the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1187 Sigtuna was attacked and pillaged by raiders from across the Baltic Sea, possibly Karelians, archaeological excavations have not verified the traditions of destruction of the town. Normal life in Sigtuna continued until town started to lose its importance during 13th century due to navigability problems caused by post-glacial rebound. The current coat of arms can be traced to the towns first known seal, according to a legend Sigtuna was once the Royal seat, but this can not be confirmed. The crown may also symbolize the royal mint which was located in the town. Since 1971 the coat of arms has been valid for the much larger Sigtuna Municipality, in the late 19th century, it still only hosted about 600 people, and was the smallest town in Sweden

13.
Adam of Bremen
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Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum, little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles. He is believed to have come from Meissen in Saxony, the dates of his birth and death are uncertain, but he was probably born before 1050 and died on 12 October of an unknown year. From his chronicles it is apparent that he was familiar with a number of authors, the honorary name of Magister Adam shows that he had passed through all the stages of a higher education. It is probable that he was taught at the Magdeburger Domschule, in 1066 or 1067 he was invited by archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg to join the Church of Bremen. Adam was accepted among the capitulars of Bremen, and by 1069 he appeared as director of the cathedrals school, soon thereafter he began to write the history of Bremen/Hamburg and of the northern lands in his Gesta. His position and the activity of the church of Bremen allowed him to gather information on the history. A stay at the court of Svend Estridson gave him the opportunity to find information about the history and geography of Denmark, among other things he wrote about in Scandinavia, includes the sailing passages across Øresund such as todays Elsinore to Helsingborg route Chłopacka Hanna, Adam Bremeński. Literature by and about Adam of Bremen in the German National Library catalogue Adamus Bremensis, repertorium Historical Sources of the German Middle Ages

14.
Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum
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Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum is a historical treatise written between 1073 and 1076 by Adam of Bremen, who made additions to the text until his death. It is one of the most important sources of the history of Northern Europe. It covers the period known as the Viking Age, from the foundation of the bishopric under Willehad in 788 until the rule of prince-bishop Adalbert in Adams own time. The text focuses on the history of the Hamburg-Bremen diocese and its bishops, as the bishops had jurisdiction over the missions to Scandinavia, it also gives a report of the Norse paganism of the period. The existence of the work was forgotten in the medieval period, until it was re-discovered in the late 16th century in the library of Sorø Abbey. It covers the relations between Saxons, Wends and Danes, the third book is focussed on the biography of archbishop Adalbert of Bremen. Adam based his works in part on Einhard, Cassiodorus, and other earlier historians, the text as presented to bishop Liemar was completed in 1075/1076. The historical context is Bremens position as a trading town. After the death of Bishop Leuderich, the see was given to Ansgar, it lost its independence, thor, they say, presides over the air, which governs the thunder and lightning, the winds and rains, fair weather crops. The other, Wotan – that is, Fury – carries on war, the third is Frikko, who bestows peace and pleasure on mortals. His likeness, too, they fashion with an immense phallus, the fourth book describes the geography of Scandinavia and the Baltic region. It mentions numerous episcopal seats and churches, including Meldorf, Schenefeld, Verden, Pahlen, Ratzeburg, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg in Holstein, Adam of Bremen had been at the court of Danish king Sven Estridson and was informed about the Viking discoveries in the North Atlantic there. Adam is believed to have come from Meissen in Saxony and he was probably born before 1050 and died on 12 October of an unknown year. From his chronicles it is apparent that he was familiar with a number of authors, the honorary name of Magister Adam shows that he had passed through all the stages of a higher education. It is probable that he was taught at the Magdeburger Domschule, in 1066 or 1067 he was invited by archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg to join the Church of Bremen. Adam was accepted among the capitulars of Bremen, and by 1069 he appeared as director of the cathedrals school, soon thereafter he began to write the history of Hamburg-Bremen and of the northern lands in his Gesta. His position and the activity of the church of Bremen allowed him to gather information on the history. A stay at the court of Svend Estridson gave him the opportunity to find information about the history and geography of Denmark, none of the three archetypes has been preserved

15.
Gniezno
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Gniezno is a city in central-western Poland, some 50 kilometres east of Poznań, with some 70,000 inhabitants. One of the Piast dynastys chief cities, it was mentioned in 10th-century sources, including the Dagome Iudex, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Gniezno is the primate of Poland, making it the countrys ecclesiastical capital. It has belonged since 1999 to the Greater Poland Voivodeship, and is the seat of Gniezno County. There are archaeological traces of settlement since the late Paleolithic. Early Slavonic settlements on the Lech Hill and the Maiden Hill are dated to the 8th century, at the beginning of the 10th century this was the site of several places sacred to the Slavic religion. The ducal stronghold was founded just before AD940 on the Lech Hill, according to the Polish version of legends, Three brothers Lech, Czech and Rus were exploring the wilderness to find a place to settle. Suddenly they saw a hill with an old oak and an eagle on top. Lech said, This white eagle I will adopt as an emblem of my people, and around this oak I will build my stronghold, the other brothers went further on to find a place for their people. Czech went to the South and Rus went to the East and it is here that the Congress of Gniezno took place in the year 1000 AD, during which Bolesław I the Brave, Duke of Poland, received Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. The 10th-century Gniezno Cathedral witnessed royal coronations of Bolesław I in 1024, the cities of Gniezno and nearby Poznań were captured, plundered and destroyed in 1038 by the Bohemian duke Bretislav I, which pushed the next Polish rulers to move the Polish capital to Kraków. The archiepiscopal cathedral was reconstructed by the ruler, Bolesław II the Generous. In the next centuries Gniezno evolved as a seat of the eastern part of Greater Poland. Gniezno was again the site in 1295 and 1300. The city was destroyed again by the Teutonic Knights invasion in 1331, Gniezno was hit by heavy fires in 1515,1613, was destroyed during the Swedish invasion wars of the 17th–18th centuries and by a plague in 1708–1710. All this caused depopulation and economic decline, but the city was revived during the 18th century to become the Gniezno Voivodeship in 1768. Gniezno was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the 1793 Second Partition of Poland, but because of Kościuszkos defeat at the Battle of Maciejowice he gave up his plan to winter in Bydgoszcz and moved through Toruń and retreated to central Poland. Thus, the Prussians retook it on 7 December 1794, during the Napoleonic Wars there was an uprising against Prussian rule. Gniezno was subsequently governed within Kreis Gnesen of the Grand Duchy of Posen, following the Greater Poland Uprising and the Treaty of Versailles Gniezno became part of the Second Polish Republic

16.
Archbishop of Bremen
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Bremen and Hamburg were the seats of the chapters at Bremen Cathedral and Hamburg Concathedral, while the incumbents used to reside in their castle in Vörde since 1219. Not all incumbents of the Bremian See were imperially invested princely power as Prince-Archbishops, papally confirmed archbishops were then invested by the emperor with the princely regalia, thus the title prince-archbishop. However, sometimes the respective incumbent of the see never gained a papal confirmation, also the opposite occurred with a papally confirmed archbishop, never invested as prince. A number of incumbents, elected by the chapter, neither achieved papal confirmation nor imperial investiture, either simply de facto replacing the Prince-Archbishop or lacking canon-law prerequisites the incumbent of the see would officially only hold the title administrator. Between 1568 and 1645 all administrators were Lutherans, while else they were Roman Catholics, the last, but only provisional incumbent of the See, Francis of Wartenberg, therefore bore the title Vicar Apostolic

17.
Adalvard the Elder
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Adalvard the Elder was a German clergyman. He was first the dean of Bremen, but he was sent to the diocese of Skara in Sweden, adam of Bremen wrote well of him, and tells that he made missionary attempts in Värmland. In Skara Cathedral a chalice was found with the inscription Adalwardus Peccator and he was succeeded by Adalvard the Younger. Tegnér, Göran, Adalvard d ä, Vikingatidens ABC, Swedish Museum of National Antiquities, ISBN 91-7192-984-3 Tegnér, Göran, Adalvardskalken, Vikingatidens ABC

18.
Scythia
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The Ancient Greeks gave the name Scythia to all the lands north-east of Europe and the northern coast of the Black Sea. The Scythians – the Greeks name for this nomadic people – inhabited Scythia from at least the 11th century BC to the 2nd century AD. Its location and extent varied over time but usually extended farther to the west than is indicated on the map opposite, Scythia was a loose state that originated as early as 8th century BC. Little is known of them and their rulers, the most detailed western description is by Herodotus, though it is uncertain he ever went to Scythia. He says the Scythians own name for themselves was Scoloti, the Scythians became increasingly settled and wealthy on their western frontier with Greco-Roman civilization. It is possible that the dynasty ruled in Scythia during most of its history. The name of Koloksai, a founder of a royal dynasty, is mentioned by Alcman in the 7th century BC. Prototi and Madis, Scythian kings in the Near Eastern period of their history, Herodotus lists five generations of a royal clan that probably reigned at the end of the 7th to 6th centuries BC, prince Anacharsis, Saulius, Idanthyrsus, Gnurus, Lycus, and Spargapithes. After being defeated and driven from the Near East, in the first half of the 6th century BCE, in the second half of that century, Scythians succeeded in dominating the agricultural tribes of the forest-steppe and placed them under tribute. As a result, their state was reconstructed with the appearance of the Second Scythian Kingdom which reached its zenith in the 4th century BC, aggressive external policy intensified exploitation of dependent populations and progressed the stratification among the nomadic rulers. Trading with Greeks also stimulated sedentarization processes, accordingly, the trade became a stimulus for capture of slaves as war spoils in numerous wars. The Scythian state reached its greatest extent in the 4th century BC during the reign of Ateas, isocrates believed that Scythians, and also Thracians and Persians, are the most able to power, and are the peoples with the greatest might. In the 4th century BC, under king Ateas, the structure of the state was eliminated. The later sources do not mention three basileuses any more, strabo tells that Ateas ruled over the majority of the North Pontic barbarians. Written sources tell that expansion of the Scythian state before the 4th century BC was mainly to the west, in this respect Ateas continued the policy of his predecessors in the 5th century BC. During western expansion, Ateas fought the Triballi, an area of Thrace was subjugated and levied with severe duties. During the 90 year life of Ateas, the Scythians settled firmly in Thrace, at the same time, both the nomadic and agricultural Scythian populations increased along the Dniester river. A war with the Bosporian Kingdom increased Scythian pressure on the Greek cities along the North Pontic littoral, materials from the site near Kamianka-Dniprovska, purportedly the capital of the Ateas’ state, show that metallurgists were free members of the society, even if burdened with imposed obligations

19.
Kvenland
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Kvenland, known as Cwenland, Kænland or similar terms in medieval sources, is an ancient name for an area in Fennoscandia and Scandinavia. One possible additional source was written in the area of Norway — all the known Nordic sources date to the 12th and 13th centuries. Other possible references to Kvenland by other names or spellings are discussed on this page. A Norwegian adventurer and traveler named Ohthere visited England around 890 CE, King Alfred of Wessex had his stories written down and included them in his Old English version of a world history written by the Romano-Hispanic author Orosius. Ohtheres story contains the only contemporary description about Kvenland that has survived from the 9th century, said that the Norwegians land was very long, and to the east are wild mountains, parallel to the cultivated land. Then along this land southwards, on the side of the mountain, is Sweden. And along that land northwards, Kvenland, as is emphasized in the text, Ohtheres account was an oral statement, made to King Alfred, and the section dealing with Kvenland takes up only two sentences. Ohtheres information on Kvens may have been second-hand, since, unlike in his other stories, other, somewhat later sources call the land adjacent to the northern part of Norway Finnmark. Ohtheres Finnas may be a reference to the Sami people, although Ohthere does not give any name for the area where his Finnas lived, he gives a lengthy description of their lives in and around Northern Norway, without mentioning Kvens. Ohtheres mention of the large meres and of the Kvens boats are of great interest, the meres are said to be amongst the mountains, the words used in the text being geond þa moras. Ohthere may be referring to the Southern Norwegian lake district, which is referred to in Orkneyinga saga. This way, the reference would have included Lake Mjøsa, an area which is known to have inhabited at that time. The mention of the light ships carried overland has a well-documented ethnographic parallel in the numerous portages of the historical river and lake routes in Fennoscandia. The name Kven briefly appears later in King Alfreds Orosius, the Kven Sea is mentioned as the northern border for the ancient Germany, and Kvenland is mentioned again, as follows. The term Sarmatism was first used by Jan Długosz in his 15th century work on the history of Poland, miechowitas Tractatus de Duabus Sarmatiis became influential abroad, and for some time it was one of the most widely used reference works on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Viking compass is believed to have had a 45 degree rotation of cardinal points, if the territories listed in King Alfreds Orosius are examined with that in mind, the Norwegians would be to the northwest of Sweden, and the Sami people would be to the north. These points are correct after rotation based on the difference between the Viking and modern compasses, Kvenland is then situated to the northeast of Sweden and might be placed somewhere around the present-day Swedish Norrland or the western part of the present-day Finland. The information of Kvenland being situated over the wastes, northwards from the Viking-period Sweden matches the idea of Kvenland extending to Norrland, there is no Finland mentioned anywhere either in the original or the updated version of Orosius history

20.
Gulf of Bothnia
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The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finlands west coast and Swedens east coast, in the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea. The Swedish name Bottenviken was originally just Botn with botn being Old Norse for gulf or bay, the name botn was applied to the Gulf of Bothnia as Helsingjabotn in Old Norse, after Hälsingland, which at the time referred to the coastland west of the gulf. Later, botten was applied to the regions Västerbotten on the western side, the Finnish name of Österbotten, Pohjanmaa, or Pohja-land, gives a hint as to the meaning in both languages, the meaning of pohja includes both bottom and north. Pohja is the word for north, pohjoinen, with an adjectival suffix added. A second possibility is that botten follows an alternative Scandinavian connotation of furthermost, thus, the Gulf of Bothnia would be the farthest extent of the Ocean. Julius Pokorny gives the extended Proto-Indo-European root as *bhudh-mn with a variant, from which the Latin fundus. The original meaning of English north, from Proto-Indo-European *ner- under, on the other hand, by north the classical authors usually meant outermost, as the northern lands were outermost to them. The origin of the word is indeed very ancient, belonging to a period before the world discoveries by the Portuguese, until then, north was not seen as the magnetic top of the world, East being the normal orientation of a map. Also, in Saami, the directions were named according to the different parts of the typical tent used by this nomadic people. The door of the tent was traditionally pointed South, in the most sunny direction, thus the origin of the word pohja in its use as north. Deriving as well from this logic is the affinity in the Finnish language of the words eteinen, meaning entrance room/hall and etelä, according to Lönnrot, north was viewed as the bottom direction because the lowest point of the suns path is there. The gulf is 725 km long, 80–240 km wide and has a depth of 60 m. The maximum depth is 295 m, the surface area is 117,000 km². The northernmost point is situated in Töre in the Bothnian Bay and its coordinates are 65°5407 N 22°3900 E. The depth and surface area of the Gulf of Bothnia are constantly decreasing, the rise is 80 cm every hundred years. Into the gulf flow a number of rivers from both sides, consequently, a salinity gradient exists from north to south, being nearly fresh, the gulf is frozen over five months every year. The icing of the Baltic Sea begins and ends in the northern Gulf of Bothnia, for the geological history of the entire region, refer to the Baltic Sea

21.
Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian

22.
Norway
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The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him

23.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years

24.
Uppland
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Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland and it is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea. It has a short and strangely shaped land border with Åland. The name literally means up land, a name which is encountered in especially older English literature. Its Latinised form, which is used, is Uplandia. The traditional provinces of Sweden serve no administrative or political purposes, the corresponding administrative county, or län, is Uppsala County, which occupies the larger part of the territory. The bulk of the population, however, is within Stockholm County, minor parts of the province are also in Västmanland County, Gävleborg County and Södermanland County. Upplands arms were granted in 1560, distinctive in its depiction of a Globus cruciger, historically, Uppland ranked as a duchy and the coat of arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazoned thus, Gules, a Royal Orb Or gemmed of the field, despite the fact that the Uppsala län has a different name and a smaller territory it was granted the same coat of arms in 1940. Uppland was historically divided into chartered cities and districts, within Roslagen they were called skeppslag, and in the rest of the province hundreds. The abovementioned districts and cities have no administrative function today, the provincial population corresponds to the different overlapping counties as follows, Uppland is the birth place of Saint Brigitta of Sweden. The earliest unambiguous mention of the province of Uppland comes from the 1296, the Swedish capital of Stockholm is divided between two provinces. The southern half lies in Södermanland and the half in Uppland. Prince Waldemar Princess Ingiburga, his wife Prince Gustav Prince Sigvard Uppsala is the seat of the archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. The archaeological site Birka and the castle of Drottningholm are UNESCO World Heritage sites, football in the province is administered by Upplands Fotbollförbund. Uppland - Tourist site Uppland - Tourist information

25.
Sweyn II of Denmark
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Sweyn II Estridsson was King of Denmark from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Jarl and Estrid Svendsdatter and he was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald III Hen, Canute IV the Saint, Oluf I Hunger, Eric I Evergood, and Niels. He was courageous in battle, but did not have success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp, Sweyn was born in England, as the son of Ulf Jarl and Estrid Svendsdatter, the daughter of king Sweyn I of Denmark and sister of king Canute the Great. Sweyn grew up a military leader, and served under king Anund Jacob of Sweden for a time and he pillaged the Elbe-Weser area in 1040, but was caught by the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, who released him shortly thereafter. Svend was made jarl under Danish king Harthacnut, and led a campaign for him against Norway, when Harthacnut died in 1042, Magnus claimed the Danish throne and made Svend his jarl of Jutland. In 1043, Sweyn fought for Magnus at the Battle of Lyrskov Heath at Hedeby, near the border of Denmark. Sweyn won great reputation at Lyrskov Heath, and had the Danish nobles crown him king in Viborg in Jutland and he was defeated by Magnus on several occasions, and had to flee to Sweden. Eventually he managed to return and establish a foothold in Scania, the war between Magnus and Sweyn lasted until 1045, when Magnus uncle Harald Hardrada returned to Norway from exile. Harald and Sweyn joined forces, and Magnus decided to share the Norwegian throne with Harald, in 1047 Magnus died, having stated on his deathbed that his kingdom would be divided, Harald would get the throne of Norway, while Sweyn would be king of Denmark. Upon hearing of Magnus death Sweyn said, Now so help me God, Harald, unwilling to relinquish Denmark, attacked Sweyn and fought a long war. Harald sacked Hedeby in 1050, and also sacked Aarhus, Sweyn almost captured Harald in 1050, when Harald attacked the coast of Jutland and loaded his ships with goods and captives. Sweyns flotilla caught up with the Norwegians and Harald ordered his men to throw out the captured goods, Sweyn ordered his men to leave the goods and go after Harald. Harald then ordered his men to throw the captives overboard, for them Sweyn was willing to let Harald slip away. Sweyn came close to losing his life at the naval Battle of Niså off the coast of Halland in 1062, according to the sagas Harald urged Sweyn to meet him in a final and decisive battle at Elv in the spring of 1062. When Sweyn and the Danish army did not show up, Harald sent home a part of his army. When Sweyn finally came to meet Harald, his fleet numbered 300 ships to Haralds 150, the fleets met at night and the battle lasted until morning, when the Danes started to flee. In the sagas the Norwegian victory is credited to earl Haakon Ivarsson

26.
Harald Hardrada
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Harald Sigurdsson, given the epithet Hardrada in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. In addition, he claimed the Danish throne until 1064. Prior to becoming king, Harald had spent around fifteen years in exile as a mercenary and military commander in Kievan Rus, when he was fifteen years old, in 1030, Harald fought in the Battle of Stiklestad together with his half-brother Olaf Haraldsson. Olaf sought to reclaim the Norwegian throne, which he had lost to the Danish king Cnut the Great two years prior, in the battle, Olaf and Harald were defeated by forces loyal to Cnut, and Harald was forced into exile to Kievan Rus. He thereafter spent some time in the army of Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise, eventually obtaining rank as a captain, Harald amassed considerable wealth during his time in the Byzantine Empire, which he shipped to Yaroslav in Kievan Rus for safekeeping. He finally left the Byzantines in 1042, and arrived back in Kievan Rus in order to prepare his campaign of reclaiming the Norwegian throne, possibly to Haralds knowledge, in his absence the Norwegian throne had been restored from the Danes to Olafs illegitimate son Magnus the Good. In 1046, Harald joined forces with Magnuss rival in Denmark, the pretender Sweyn II of Denmark, Magnus, unwilling to fight his uncle, agreed to share the kingship with Harald, since Harald in turn would share his wealth with him. The co-rule ended abruptly the next year as Magnus died, domestically, Harald crushed all local and regional opposition, and outlined the territorial unification of Norway under a national governance. Haralds reign was one of relative peace and stability, and he instituted a viable coin economy. Probably seeking to restore Cnuts North Sea Empire, Harald also claimed the Danish throne, although the campaigns were successful, he was never able to conquer Denmark. Harald went along and entered Northern England in September 1066, raided the coast, although initially successful, Harald was defeated and killed in an attack by Harold Godwinsons forces in the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Modern historians have often considered Haralds death at Stamford Bridge, which brought an end to his invasion, Harald is also commonly held to have been the last great Viking king, or even the last great Viking. Through his mother Åsta, Harald was the youngest of King Olaf Haraldssons three half-brothers, in his youth, Harald displayed traits of a typical rebel with big ambitions, and admired Olaf as his role model. He thus differed from his two brothers, who were more similar to their father, down-to-earth and mostly concerned with maintaining the farm. The Icelandic sagas, in particular Snorri Sturluson in Heimskringla, claim that Sigurd, following a revolt in 1028, Haralds brother Olaf was forced into exile until he returned to Norway in early 1030. On hearing news of Olafs planned return, Harald gathered 600 men from the Uplands to meet Olaf and his men upon their arrival in the east of Norway. After a friendly welcome, Olaf went on to gather an army and eventually fight in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030, the battle was part of an attempt to restore Olaf to the Norwegian throne, which had been captured by the Danish king Cnut the Great. The battle resulted in defeat for the brothers at the hands of those Norwegians who were loyal to Cnut, Harald was nonetheless remarked to have shown considerable military talent during the battle

27.
Uppsala
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Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. It had 149,245 inhabitants in 2015, located 71 km north of the capital Stockholm, it is also the seat of Uppsala Municipality. Since 1164, Uppsala has been the centre of Sweden. Uppsala is home to Scandinavias largest cathedral – Uppsala Cathedral, founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest centre of higher education in Scandinavia. Among many achievements, the Celsius scale for temperature was invented there, Uppsala was originally located a few kilometres north of its current location at a place now known as Gamla Uppsala. Todays Uppsala was then called Östra Aros, Uppsala was, according to medieval writer Adam of Bremen, the main pagan centre of Sweden, and the Temple at Uppsala contained magnificent idols of the Norse gods. The Fyrisvellir plains along the south of Old Uppsala, in the area where the modern city is situated today, was the site of the Battle of Fyrisvellir in the 980s. The present-day Uppsala was at that time known as Östra Aros and was a town of Gamla Uppsala. In 1160, King Eric Jedvardsson was attacked and killed outside the church of Östra Aros, the cathedral is built in the Gothic style and is one of the largest in northern Europe, with towers reaching 118.70 metres. Uppsala is also the site of the 16th century Uppsala Castle, the city was severely damaged by a fire in 1702. The arms bearing the lion can be traced to 1737 and have been modernised several times, the meaning of the lion is uncertain but is likely connected to the royal lion, also depicted on the Coat of Arms of Sweden. Situated on the fertile Uppsala flatlands of muddy soil, the city features the small Fyris River flowing through the landscape surrounded by lush vegetation. Parallel to the runs the glacial ridge of Uppsalaåsen at an elevation of circa 30 metres. The central park Stadsskogen stretches from the south far into town, only some 70 kilometres or 40 minutes by train from the capital, many Uppsala residents work in Stockholm. The train to Stockholm-Arlanda Airport takes only 17 minutes, rendering the city accessible by air. The commercial centre of Uppsala is quite compact, during recent decades, a significant part of retail commercial activity has shifted to shopping malls and stores situated in the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, the areas have expanded greatly, and some suburbanization has taken place. Uppsala lies on the 59th parallel north and has a continental climate, with cold winters

28.
Sweyn Forkbeard
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Sweyn Forkbeard was king of Denmark, England, and parts of Norway. His name appears as Swegen in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and he was the son of King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark, and the father of Cnut the Great. In the mid-980s, Sweyn revolted against his father and seized the throne, Harald was driven into exile and died shortly afterwards in November 986 or 987. In 1000, with the allegiance of Trondejarl, Eric of Lade, in 1013, shortly before his death, he became the first Danish king of England after a long effort. Many details about Sweyns life are contested, Adam of Bremen identifies his mother as Gunhild while the Dictionary of National Biography states that his mothers name is unknown. The Danish encyclopedia Den Store Danske on the other hand identifies her as Tove from the Western Wendland, many negative accounts build on Adam of Bremens writings, Adam is said to have watched Sweyn and Scandinavia in general with an unsympathetic and intolerant eye, according to some scholars. Adam accused Forkbeard of being a pagan who persecuted Christians, betrayed his father and expelled German bishops from Scania. According to Adam, Sweyn was sent into exile by his fathers German friends and deposed in favour of king Eric the Victorious of Sweden, whom Adam wrote ruled Denmark until his death in 994 or 995. Historians generally have problems with Adams claims, such as that Sweyn was driven into exile in Scotland for a period as long as fourteen years. As many scholars point out, he built churches in Denmark throughout this period, such as Lund and Roskilde, Sweyn was believed to have had a personal interest in the atrocities, with his sister Gunhilde and her husband possibly amongst the victims. Sweyn campaigned in Wessex and East Anglia in 1003–1004, but a famine forced him to return to Denmark in 1005, further raids took place in 1006–1007, and in 1009–1012 Thorkell the Tall led a Viking invasion into England. Simon Keynes regards it as uncertain whether Sweyn supported these invasions, some scholars have argued that Sweyns participation may have been prompted by his state of impoverishment after having been forced to pay a hefty ransom. He needed revenue from the raids and he acquired massive sums of Danegeld through the raids. In 1013, he is reported to have led his forces in a full-scale invasion of England. The contemporary Peterborough Chronicle, one of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, states and he went very quickly about East Anglia into the Humbers mouth, and so upward along the Trent till he came to Gainsborough. Earl Uchtred and all Northumbria quickly bowed to him, as did all the people of the Kingdom of Lindsey and he was given hostages from each shire. After he came over Watling Street, they went to Oxford, and the town-dwellers soon bowed to him, from there they went to Winchester, and the people did the same, then eastward to London. But the Londoners put up a resistance, because King Æthelred and Thorkell the Tall

29.
Tiundaland
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Tiundaland is a historic region, Folkland, and since 1296 part of the modern province of Uppland. It originally meant the land of the ten hundreds and referred to its duty of providing 1000 men and 40 ships for the Swedish kings leidang. During the Viking Age it probably extended from the coast of the Baltic Sea by Norrtälje to the bay today is the lake Mälaren. According to Snorri Sturluson in the Heimskringla it was the location of Uppsala and the Thing of all Swedes, all the Swedish lawspeakers were subordinate to the one of Tiundaland. The third portion of Svithjod proper is called Tiundaland, the fourth Attundaland, the fifth Sialand, Tiundaland is the best and most inhabited part of Svithjod, under which the other kingdoms stand. There Upsala is situated, the seat of the king and archbishop, each of these divisions of the country has its Lag-thing, and Its own laws in many parts. And in all matters in which the laws differ from other, Upsala-law is the directing law. Attundaland Fjärdhundraland Roslagen Stone of Mora Suiones

30.
Jutland
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Jutland, also known as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula, is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and the northern portion of Germany. The names are derived from the Jutes and the Cimbri, respectively, jutlands terrain is relatively flat, with open lands, heaths, plains and peat bogs in the west and a more elevated and slightly hilly terrain in the east. Jutland is a peninsula bounded by the North Sea to the west, the Skagerrak to the north, geographically and historically, Jutland comprises the regions of South Jutland, West Jutland, East Jutland and North Jutland. There are several subdivisions and regional names, some of which are still occasionally encountered today. They include Nørrejyllland, Sydvestjylland, Nordvestjylland and Slesvig, historically, Jutland was regulated by the Law Code of Jutland. This civic code covered the Jutland Peninsula from the north of the River Eider to Funen as well as the North Jutlandic Island. The Danish part of Jutland is currently divided into three regions, North Denmark Region, Central Denmark Region and Region of Southern Denmark. These three regions have an area of 29,775 km2, a population of 2,599,104. The northernmost part of Jutland is separated from the mainland by the Limfjord and this area is called the North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy or simply Jutland north of the Limfjord, it is only partly co-terminous with the North Jutland region. Inhabitants of Als would agree to be South Jutlanders, but not necessarily Jutlanders, the Danish Wadden Sea Islands and the German North Frisian Islands stretch along the southwest coast of Jutland in the German Bight. Jutland has historically been one of the three lands of Denmark, the two being Scania and Zealand. Before that, according to Ptolemy, Jutland or the Cimbric Chersonese was the home of Teutons, Cimbri, many Angles, Saxons and Jutes migrated from Continental Europe to Great Britain starting in c.450 AD. The Angles themselves gave their name to the new emerging kingdoms called England and this is thought by some to be related to the invasion of Europe by the Huns from Asia. Saxons and Frisii migrated to the region in the part of the Christian era. Old Saxony was later on referred to as Holstein, during the First World War, the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea west of Jutland was one of the largest naval battles in history. In this pitched battle, the British Royal Navy engaged the Imperial German Navy, the British fleet sustained greater losses, but remained in control of the North Sea, so in strategic terms, most historians regard Jutland either as a British victory or as indecisive. The distinctive Jutish dialects differ substantially from standard Danish, especially West Jutlandic, dialect usage, although in decline, is better preserved in Jutland than in eastern Denmark, and Jutlander speech remains a stereotype among many Copenhageners and eastern Danes. Administratively, Danish Jutland comprises three of Denmarks five regions, namely the Region Nordjylland, Region Midtjylland and the half of Region of Southern Denmark

31.
Zealand
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Zealand is the largest and most populated island in Denmark with a population of 2,267,659. It is the 96th-largest island in the world by area and the 35th most populous and it is connected to Funen by the Great Belt Fixed Link, to Lolland, Falster by the Storstrøm Bridge and the Farø Bridges. Zealand is also linked to Amager by five bridges, Zealand is linked indirectly, through intervening islands by a series of bridges and tunnels, to southern Sweden. Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is located partly on the shore of Zealand. Other cities on Zealand include Roskilde, Hillerød, Næstved and Helsingør, the island is not connected historically to the Pacific nation of New Zealand, which is named after the Dutch province of Zeeland. In Norse mythology as told in the story of Gylfaginning, the island was created by the goddess Gefjun after she tricked Gylfi and she removed a piece of land and transported it to Denmark, which became Zealand. The vacant area was filled with water and became Mälaren, however, since modern maps show a similarity between Zealand and the Swedish lake Vänern, it is sometimes identified as the hole left by Gefjun. Zealand is the most populous Danish island and it is irregularly shaped, and is north of the islands of Lolland, Falster, and Møn. The small island of Amager lies immediately east, Copenhagen is mostly on Zealand but extends across northern Amager. A number of bridges and the Copenhagen Metro connect Zealand to Amager, Zealand is joined in the west to Funen, by the Great Belt Fixed Link, and Funen is connected by bridges to the countrys mainland, Jutland. Gyldenløveshøj, south of the city Roskilde, has a height of 126 metres, Zealand gives its name to the Selandian era of the Paleocene. Urban areas with 10, 000+ inhabitants, North Zealand Media related to Zealand at Wikimedia Commons Zealand travel guide from Wikivoyage

32.
Scania
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Scania, also known by its local name Skåne, is the southernmost province of Sweden which consists of a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian Peninsula and some islands close to it. Scania is roughly equivalent to the modern Skåne County, the responsibility for overseeing implementation of state policy in the county is administered by the County Administrative Board. Within Scania there are 33 municipalities that are independent and separate from the Scania Regional Council which has its seat in Kristianstad, the largest city is Malmö, which is also the third largest city in Sweden. To the north, Scania borders the provinces of Halland and Småland, to the northeast Blekinge, to the east and south the Baltic Sea and Bornholm island, since 2000 a road and railway bridge, the Øresund Bridge, bridges the sound to the Danish island of Zealand. The HH Ferry route across the part of Øresund also remains as an important link between the Scandinavian Peninsula and Zealand. Scania is part of the transnational Øresund Region, Scania was part of the kingdom of Denmark up until the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The transition to Sweden was later confirmed by the 1660 Treaty of Copenhagen, the 1679 Peace of Lund, the last serious Danish attempt to invade the province failed in 1710, after the Battle of Helsingborg. The period 1658–1720 saw widespread violence by the Swedish militaries against the local population, the same was also true about the Danish military, though to a far lesser extent. The region did not form part of Sweden proper until 1720 and it was then divided in two counties and has since then been regarded as fully integrated in Sweden. Until the early 19th century, a policy of forced assimilation was employed by the Swedish government in what then had been a linguistically Danish region. Controversy relating to whether the Scanian dialects should be classified as a language or as Danish or Swedish dialects remains to this day. From north to south Scania is around 130 kilometres and covers less than 3% of Swedens total area, about 16% of Scanias population is foreign-born. With 120 inh/km2 Scania is the second most densely populated province of Sweden, the western part, along the coast of the Øresund, is by far the most populated part. The endonym used in Swedish and other North Germanic languages is Skåne, the Latinized form Scania occurs especially in British English as an exonym. Scania is the only Swedish province for which exonyms are still used in many languages, e. g. French Scanie, Dutch and German Schonen, Polish Skania, Spanish Escania, Italian Scania. For the provinces modern administrative counterpart, Skåne län, the endonym Skåne is used in English, in the Alfredian translation of Orosiuss and Wulfstans travel accounts, the Old English form Sconeg appears. The names Scania and Scandinavia are considered to have the same etymology, the name is possibly derived from the Germanic root *Skaðin-awjã, which appears in Old Norse as Skáney. According to some scholars, the Germanic stem can be reconstructed as *Skaðan- meaning danger or damage, Skanör in Scania, with its long Falsterbo reef, has the same stem combined with -ör, which means sandbanks

33.
Varberg Radio Station
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The Varberg Radio Station at Grimeton is a VLF transmission facility at Grimeton close to Varberg, in Halland, Sweden. It has the only working Alexanderson alternator rotating armature radio transmitter in the world and is classified as a World Heritage Site and it is an anchor site for the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The transmitter was built in 1922 to 1924, to operate at 17.2 kHz, the Grimeton VLF transmitter location is also used for shortwave transmissions, FM and TV broadcasting. For this purpose, a 260 metre high guyed steel framework mast was built in 1966 next to the containing the 40 kHz transmitter. Until the 1950s, the Grimeton VLF transmitter was used for radio telegraphy to Radio Central in Long Island, New York. From the 1960s until 1996 it transmitted orders to submarines in the Swedish Navy, in 1968 a second transmitter was installed which uses the same aerial as the machine transmitter but with transistor and tube technology. The Alexanderson transmitter became obsolete in 1996 and went out of service, however, because it was still in good condition it was declared a national monument and can be visited during the summer. On July 2,2004, the Grimeton VLF transmitter was declared a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO and it continues to be used on special occasions such as Alexanderson Day to transmit Morse messages on 17.2 kHz. The Grimeton/Varberg site is used by the Swedish Navy, transmitting on 40.4 kHz using call sign SRC using the vacuum tube transmitter. Therefore the special transmissions from that machine transmitter are very rare, recent transmissions from SAQ on 17.2 kHz took place on December 24,2013, June 29,2014, December 24,2014, June 28,2015 and July 3,2016. At least two regular transmissions take place each year, on the first Sunday of July and on Christmas Eve, plus one or two extra transmissions on special occasions or for testing

34.
Halland
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Halland is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden, on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat, the provinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. Instead, that function is served by the Counties of Sweden, as of December 31,2009, Halland had a population of 303,895. Of these,287,668 lived in Halland County,13,980 lived in Västra Götaland County, during the Danish era until 1658, the province had no coat of arms and no seal. In Sweden, however, every province had been represented by heraldic arms since 1560, when Charles X Gustav of Sweden suddenly died in 1660 a coat of arms had to be created for the newly acquired province. Each province was to be represented by its arms at the royal funeral, there are several theories about the choice of a lion. Bengt Algotsson, duke of Halland and Finland in the 14th century, blazon, Azure, a Lion rampant Argent langued, armed and dente Gules. The same coat of arms was granted for the administrative Halland County. The rivers of Lagan, Ätran, Nissan and Viskan flow through the province, Halland is well known for its fertile soil and as an agricultural district. The Bronze Age was probably a period of prosperity in Halland. This is shown in the number of new settlements and the archaeological remains. Over 1,100 tumuli and grave mounds have been found, the end of the Bronze Age witnessed an over-consumption of resources. This might have been a result of a demand for charcoal in smelting gold or bronze among the local elites. The worsening climate at the beginning of the Iron Age meant that the local elites no longer could obtain bronze to the extent as before. As a result, the structures collapsed. The early Iron Age social structures seem to have been relatively egalitarian and this is likely to have been a distant influence from the growing Roman Empire. During the 5th and 6th century large free-standing farms were created, an example of such a farm can be found in Slöinge. It was not just the structure that changed, so too did the settlement structure

Now lying within Helsinki, Suomenlinna is a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site consisting of an inhabited 18th century sea fortress built on six islands. It is one of Finland's most popular tourist attractions.

Kvenland, known as Cwenland, Qwenland, Kænland or similar terms in medieval sources, is an ancient name for an area in …

A possible location of Kvenland and Nór's route to the fjord of Trondheim. Kvenland can be placed elsewhere east of Gulf of Bothnia, as well. The selected location on the map is the one with most archaeological finds. Most interpretations locate Kvenland in the less well researched northern coastal area on the Bothnian Bay.

The Archdiocese of Bremen (also Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen, German: Erzbistum Bremen, not to be confused with the …

The Bremian ecclesiastical province (dark grey) with its remaining three suffragans around 1500, thus after disentangling Bremen's Scandinavian suffragan dioceses, as well as neighbouring provinces in Central Europe.

Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen within the Holy Roman Empire (as of 1648), the episcopal residence (in Vörde) shown by a red spot.

The coat of arms of the Bremian municipality Hagen im Bremischen shows in the middle the coat of arms of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen.